Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in The Hague, on March 25, 2014. (Getty Images0
Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung is finally giving credence to hints his government has been dropping that it may consider legal action against China over their escalating territorial dispute in the South China Sea. On Thursday, the P.M. said that he had “consulted” Philippine President Benigno Aquino on a maritime case filed by the Philippines with a United Nations tribunal against China and that Vietnam is now “considering various defense options, including legal actions in accordance with the international law.”
The legal threat ups the ante of a dispute that has already escalated to a level approaching tensions around 1979’s bloody border war — the last major bilateral crisis between the two countries. With anti-Chinese sentiment flaring in Vietnam, Hanoi’s rhetoric has in turn grown increasingly tough against Beijing. According to Dung, Vietnam has “exhausted all dialogue channels” with the Chinese government and “China not only failed to respond to Vietnam’s legitimate demands, but on the contrary has been slandering Vietnam while threatening to use force.”
VISUAL CONTEXT: South China Sea territorial claims
Source: AFP
The aggressive diplomatic response by Hanoi to China’s decision to operate an oil rig near the Paracel Islands marks a notable departure from the usual sensitivity with which the two Communist nations have typically approached their bilateral grievances. Though China has maintained the upper hand in this latest squabble, especially following the failure of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to produce a statement condemning Chinese provocations in the South China Sea at a summit in Myanmar earlier this month, Hanoi has nonetheless mounted an energetic campaign to pressure Beijing.
Hanoi’s developing diplomatic bond with Manila in particular has to be cause for some consternation for Beijing. A joint denunciation of Chinese territorial provocations by both Manila and Hanoi on Wednesday represented a rare public show of unity between the two states and no doubt irritated Beijing. In a region that has shied away from ganging up on China— which is engaged in a number of territorial disputes with several other neighbors— Vietnam’s budding alliance with the Philippines over the issue is certainly remarkable.
The prospect of international arbitration in itself is not much of a threat against China— something Hanoi is no doubt aware of. By teaming up with the Philippines to pursue this goal, however, Vietnam’s government is making a statement that might raise Chinese concerns in another direction. Chinese Prime Minister Xi Jinping’s comments on Wednesday warning Asian countries about strengthening ties with ‘third party’ powers speaks to what the bigger issue is from Beijing’s perspective.
With the United States seeking to increase its influence in Asia, China has been eager to display the strength of its own position in the region. Asserting its sovereignty in disputed waters has been part of this effort. Unfortunately, this has had the perverse consequence of forcing a fellow communist state to begin (at least publicly) gravitating towards a state that just recently signed a long-term military pact with Washington. Is Hanoi on its way to opening the door to Washington’s ‘third party’ involvement? Unlikely. However, the unprecedented steps it has taken in response to this recent squabble show that it is not prepared to make things simple for Beijing.
